Venezuela opposition leader asks Colombia president and Senate for help over election controversy

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Maria Corina Machado is still fighting the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after his supposed election victory in July.

The opposition leader in Venezuela is asking other countries to step in and help, requesting Colombia’s president recognize Unitary Party candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the true election winner. Gonzalez was the candidate for Machado’s party after she was banned from running for president.

Machado’s plea was heard during a virtual meeting of a session of Colombia’s Senate, Reuters reported. She appealed to the country’s senators and President Gustavo Petro to apply pressure in calling for Maduro to cede power in office and allow Gonzalez to assume Venezuela’s presidency. However, Petro is considered to be a Maduro ally, according to reports.

“To the government of Colombia, especially President Petro: It is time for decisions,” Machado said. “Silence is no longer an option in the face of what is happening in Venezuela. The transition is inevitable, and with the participation of your government, as we have said, we are willing to move forward in a constructive negotiation that is based on respect for the popular sovereignty expressed by Venezuelans on July 28.”

Machado is in hiding for fear of persecution from the Maduro regime. She gave her speech to Colombia’s Senate from a private, undisclosed location and has not been seen in public in over 60 days, according to reports.

Maduro’s regime cracked down on dissenters after the election, and calls for Venezuela’s government to provide proof of Maduro’s victory have gone unanswered. Meanwhile, Machado’s party provided evidence of the tally sheets for over 80% of the results from the country’s voting machines, Reuters reported.

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Machado emphasized this in her speech and mentioned the harsh and repressive tactics Maduro has used to silence the opposition and punish those who spoke out against the government’s repressive tactics after the election in July.

“To you, honorable senators, I ask you to be guarantors of our victory and to be the voice of those of us who today are facing the most atrocious and ruthless repression,” Machado said.

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